Tecalitlán facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tecalitlán
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
Municipality and town
|
||
|
||
Location of the city in Jalisco
|
||
| Country |  Mexico |
|
| State | Jalisco | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1,301 km2 (502 sq mi) | |
| • Town | 3.66 km2 (1.41 sq mi) | |
| Population
(2020 Census)
|
||
| • Total | 16,705 | |
| • Density | 12.840/km2 (33.256/sq mi) | |
| • Town | 13,243 | |
| • Town density | 3,618/km2 (9,371/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central Standard Time) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time) | |
Tecalitlán is a town and municipality in the central Pacific coastal state of Jalisco, Mexico. Located just south of Ciudad Guzmán, the population of the municipality was 16,705 as of 2020.
Economy
Industry
One of Tecalitlán's major industries was sugar cane, which ended about thirty years ago. Nowadays, the economy relies on agriculture, such as the rearing of cattle, pigs, chickens, and goats. Many Tecalitlán families rely on relatives who immigrated to the United States to send money back.
Culture
Tecalitlán is at the heart of the region where mariachi music was developed, and in fact the most famous exponent of that genre, Vargas de Tecalitlán, was founded there in the 1890s (though now resident in Mexico City). There is a museum of this mariachi in Tecalitlán. Tecalitlán has many traditions, such as the fiestas de diciembre which celebrates religion and the love toward the Virgin of Guadalupe.
People in this town are very friendly.
A very interesting tradition, alive to the modern day, is that every Sunday after mass, people visit the center of the town (Jardin) and spend their afternoon socializing. In Jardin, girls walk one way, boys the other way, on the sidewalk around the park, so they can face each other and check each other out. Culturally, girls do not stare directly at the boys, but lock arms with each other and chat as they walk. Street vendors sell hollowed out egg shells filled with confetti which is cracked over the heads of someone they admire passing the opposite way. It's a special experience and honor, as it shows who is admired, while they continue to walk and are seen by everyone. The parents and older folks sit on the benches along the sidewalk and chat, enjoying watching the young people interact in a safe environment.
There is the cerro de la cruz, a mountain were there is a cross that people go to visit and offer sacrifices.
A local culinary specialty is birria, a savory stew made from goat meat and other ingredients. There are also other foods like tacos, sopes, pozole, tostadas, enchiladas and many more Mexican traditional foods.
Comedian/singer Cessy Casanova, whose father and brother have been guitarron players with Vargas de Tecalitlán, was born and raised here.
